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A monument erected in the US city of Chicago in memory of a Lithuanian resistance leader has led to a diplomatic dispute following criticism from Russia and a Holocaust research organisation.

The new memorial was unveiled in honour of Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas, who commanded Lithuania’s resistance to Soviet occupation after the Second World War.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius was present at the unveiling ceremony in Lemont, a village in the suburbs of Chicago, last Sunday.

However, the Simon Wiesenthal Center - an American organisation that researches the Holocaust - claims Ramanauskas-Vanagas was also involved in the persecution of Lithuanian Jews.

In a statement on their website, the Center said Ramanauskas-Vanagas was a “leader of a gang of local vigilantes which persecuted the Jewish community of Druskininkai during the initial weeks following the Nazi invasion of Lithuania in June 1941.”

The Russian Embassy in the US opposed the erection of the monument and criticised its untimely unveiling, as it nearly coincided with Holocaust Remembrance Day and was followed by Victory in Europe Day shortly after.

Ramanauskas-Vanagas is lauded as a hero in Lithuania Credit:
PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP/Getty Images

In a statement posted on Facebook, it claimed the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania sought to “glorify Nazi collaborators” and described the event as “especially cynical.”

Lithuania has accused both the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Russia of making false accusations.

The foreign ministry reacted by calling on Moscow to stop spreading misinformation on what it describes as Ramanauskas-Vanagas’ "impeccable reputation". The Russian embassy representative in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius was recalled in an act of protest.

It responded to Russia’s criticism by tweeting: “You will not drag us down to your level,” and said the goal of the Lithuanian Freedom Fighters was to “restore the independent democratic republic of Lithuania.”

Ramanauskas-Vanagas was known as ‘The Hawk’ and was a prominent member of the Lithuanian Freedom Fighters.

There is no direct evidence that he was personally involved in any murders, though the Simon Wiesenthal Center says Ramanauskas-Vanagas mentions how he led his “gang of vigilantes” in his memoirs.

The Lithuanian government insists that he headed a “property protection unit” from 23 June to 7 July 1941 dedicated to guarding homes